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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · coach · pitch · last · branch · kid · plane · net

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. net — in sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. net — after costs
  12. last — final
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — child
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. net — for catching
  18. plane — a tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com